Hunt for Gambia's mythical dragon (problematic to find because people die within weeks of seeing it)

The BBC ^ | July 16, 2006

[Stoat]

Hunt for Gambia's mythical dragon

A child's depiction of the ninki-nanka on the expedition's blog

A team of UK dragon-hunters is on an expedition in The Gambia to track down a mysterious creature known locally as the "Ninki-nanka".

Believed to live in swamps, the ninki-nanka appears in the folklore of many parts of West Africa.

It is described as having a horse-like face, a long body with mirror-like scales and a crest of skin on its head.

Team leader Richard Freeman told the BBC, evidence so far was sketchy as most people died soon after seeing it.

Mr Freeman, a cryptozoologist from the UK-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, admitted that the ninki-nanka's existence was "very far-fetched indeed".

There seems to be this thing when you see the ninki-nanka you will die usually within a few weeks   Richard Freeman

Second-hand accounts varied wildly from it looking like a crocodile or a snake to having wings and spitting fire, he said.

But he disputed a suggestion that the hunt was a waste of time and money.

"We didn't know any of this before we came. We have to look into everything to see if there is a possibility that there's a real creature there," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

Cryptozoology is the search for animals whose existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the Loch Ness monster.

Herbal potion

The team have interviewed one eyewitness so far - a park ranger from the Kiang West National Park who lived to tell the tale of his encounter three years ago.

One of the expedition team examines a 'scale'

He described an immense animal 50 metres long by one metre wide that he watched for more than an hour before being taken ill.

He put down his survival down to a herbal potion given to him by an Islamic holy man, Mr Freeman said.

Later, according to the expedition's blog, after being shown pictures of various reptiles and mythical animals, the ranger said the creature's face most resembled that of a Chinese dragon.

"We've heard very similar stories all over The Gambia but mostly not first hand eyewitnesses... there seems to be this thing when you see the ninki-nanka you will die usually within a few weeks," Mr Freeman said.

The team are taking back a sample of what is claimed to be a ninki-nanka's scale to be tested in the UK.

But initially investigations suggestion this is a red herring, perhaps a bit of rotten celluloid film and "not biological".

"We haven't discounted the possibility that there is a flesh and blood ninki-nanka in the swamps of West Africa, it's just at the moment the evidence is pointing to something more folkloric," he said.
 

[Stoat]

Expedition blog:

The 2006 Gambia Expedition

Also from The Independent (U.K.):

Independent Online Edition Science & Technology

The monster detectives: on the trail of the ninki-nanka

Once, the komodo dragon was thought to exist only in folklore. What other mythical beasts might we find if we look hard enough? Helen Brown meets the man on the trail of the ninki-nanka

Published: 12 July 2006

 

As you read this, a small group of intrepid, pink-nosed Brits are creeping through the Gambian jungle, dodging crocodiles and cobras, in the hope of spotting the legendary "ninki-nanka". (OK, it sounds like a Goon Show plot, but bear with me.) This fabulously named creature is said by locals to resemble a giant reptile, up to 30 feet long and dwelling in the murk of the mangrove swamps.

The "dragon" is rumoured to look rather like a game of zoological "consequences", possessing the body of a crocodile, the neck of a giraffe and the head of a horse with three horns. Less fantastically, the team's leader, Richard Freeman of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, suspects the ninki-nanka of being a species of colossal monitor lizard. "Whatever the truth," he says, "this is the first dedicated expedition to search for this animal."

(this is an excerpt...the rest is available only by paying)

[coconutt2000]

It sounds like it might be radioactive.

[Anti-Bubba182]

"...(problematic to find because people die within weeks of seeing it)"

Ninka Nanka=Hokey Pokey for tourists or other suckers.

[Stoat]

Ninki-Nanka identification guide:

 

(NOT a Ninki-Nanka)

(Possibly someone who has seen a Ninki_Nanka)

 

(NOT a Ninki-Nanka, this is a stoat)

 

[Stoat]

Ninki-Nanka?

[CzarNicky]

LOL

[kb2614]

Wait till they find out its not a dragon.

[Jeff Chandler]

people die within weeks of seeing it

I hate it when that happens.

[Stoat]

 

Be sure to have your Holy Hand Grenade nearby

[RandallFlagg]

people die within weeks of seeing it

I hate it when that happens.

Me too.

[MarkL]

Death, with big, pointy teeth! Run AWAY!!!!

Mark

[sergeantdave]

"It is described as having a horse-like face, a long body with mirror-like scales and a crest of skin on its head."

They're looking for Kerry. Someone tell them to head to DC.

[rod1]

Most people died (probably of malaria) after high fever induced hallucinations, etc. Either that or its Nettie over-wintering in the tropics.

[rockprof]

Sounds like the mokele mbembe (sp?) people have hunted for in the Congo region.

[xp38]

Far worse than Ninki-Nanka

[savedbygrace]

Maybe the Wilson-Plames know something about this. Wasn't he ambassador to Gambia?

[pcottraux]

[Inyo-Mono]

Thanks for the ping! Good article.

[Stoat]

I'm delighted that you liked it, and thank you for your kind words :-)

[gnarledmaw]

Rather except that people generally only die after supposedly eating mokele-mbembe.

[Hegemony Cricket]

I believe it is entirely possible that this creature still exists - if so, it's probably a some sort of dinosaur.

On the other hand, "ninki-nanka" sounds like a Monty Python creature name...

[Hegemony Cricket]

Oh, great, thanks. NOW I'm gonna die within weeks...

[curmudgeonII]

22 posts on this topic and no picture of Helen Thomas?
Come on, guys!

[Stoat]

On the other hand, "ninki-nanka" sounds like a Monty Python creature name...

Sort of like the Knights Who Say Ni?

 

Hopefully the Ninki-Nanka can be appeased by an inexpensive shrubbery as the Knights had promised....

[stands2reason]

Yuck!

[Stoat]

Oh, great, thanks. NOW I'm gonna die within weeks...

Don't do that!  We need your help to fight the Islamofascists and the Left !

And you have no worries....I'm rather doubtful that there's a whole lot of internet access in Gambia (the Expedition seems to be having their share of troubles with that) and so I am suspecting that you are probably not there.  Therefore, you haven't seen a Ninki-Nanka and therefore you are not in danger of dying as a result of seeing one....unless a Ninki Nanka has hitchhiked to your city, in which case all bets are off.

[Stoat]

22 posts on this topic and no picture of Helen Thomas?
Come on, guys!

When I posted the article and the Ninki-Nanka Identification Guide, I fully expected to be inundated with multiple pictures of HT, as it has become tradition now to feature her alongside any stories of weird or ugly people or animals.   I had thought that Babs "Ninki-Nanka" Streisand would be a bit off the beaten track.

I'm guessing that many viewers and posters here may have had quite enough of HT, but since you specifically requested her, here you go   :-)

Ninki-Nanka!

[curmudgeonII]

I did not [and would not] request a photo of that beast from 20,000 fathoms. I was, however, expressing my amazement that no one had slipped a photo of her into one of the repleies.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Well, actually I was referring to your posting the picture of Babs, but thanks for your concern. After seeing that picture, I merely had a headache and upset stomache for a day or so, but I'm all better now... :-)

[firewalk]

.